Elisa: Florence Beginnings: From Sightseeing and Gelato to a Hard Won Beach Day
- Elisa K
- 14. Juli
- 2 Min. Lesezeit
Together with Teresa I arrived in Florence by night train, which was a completely new experience for both of us. Before work started on Monday, we had a whole weekend to explore the city, enjoy the Italian cuisine, and of course do some shopping.
From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. I work at a campsite just a little outside town, where I assist with check-outs, check-ins, and customer requests. On my first day I had to introduce myself in a few Italian sentences, and ever since then they only talk to me in Italian. In the beginning it was quite challenging to understand instructions, explanations, and have conversations, but after one full week in Florence, I’m starting to get used to it and it gets easier every day.
In our first days we already saw some major tourist attractions such as Michelangelo’s David, the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, Palazzo Pitti, and the beautiful cathedral. We also watched the sunset from Piazzale Michelangelo, which lies on a small hill with a stunning view over the old town. When we arrived at this unique spot, we not only encountered an incredible scenery but also a Red Bull event with a DJ, volleyball and football matches, and lots of small tents selling food and drinks.
Last Sunday we decided to escape the heat in the city and take a train to the beach. Excited, we left the house to take the bus to the main train station, but the bus simply didn’t show up. After waiting for 20 minutes and getting nervous, we tried calling a taxi. After contacting three different taxi companies and using several apps, we faced the situation: not a single taxi was available and we were going to miss our train. Luckily, we were able to reschedule our train back and bought a new ticket to the beach. To cheer ourselves up we wanted to buy some delicious panini we had already tried, but when we arrived at the shop we encountered a massive queue. Not wanting to miss our train again, we got lunch somewhere else and finally, after two challenging and unplanned catastrophes, we arrived at the beach. In the end we spent the rest of the day enjoying the sea and amazing coffee.
To sum up, we already know what a privilege Austrian public train and bus services are compared to Italy, and we’re enjoying our new lifestyle — discovering new things and eating gelato almost every day.
